Bedpan



' 7 April 10, 1934. F. L. SHIVELY BEDPAN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3,1933 I Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT "on-l ce I 13 Claims.

This invention relates to bed pans to be used in bed by a. sick person.

An object of this invention is to provide a bed pan having a suitablebac'ir rest mounted therelfi upon which is foldable and movable into ashallow pocket provided therefor under the pan contain er, and easilymovable from the pcclret to its back supporting position aiter theoccupant sits and bears his normal weight upon the pan. it Thus the panof this invention may be properly inserted under the occupant whilelying in bed, after which he is raised to a sitting position thereuponand then the baclr rest is readily and quickly moved to itsback-supporting position and the occupant allowed to recline againstsame.

The extreme need and usefulness oi such a back-=- rest is obvious to anyone so unfortunate as to have had the experience of using an ordinarybed pan.

it very important i'eature oi this invention is simple and efiicientmeans tor guiding the bacli rest from its pocket to its back-supportingposi-= tlon and properly clear the bedding which normally bulgesupwardly around the pan, particutii larly at the back thereo'i, when theoccupants weight rests thereupon.

other ieature of this invention is the wide elongated base whichprojects rearwardly a con siderable distance beyond the point where the39 leach-rest is mounted, and thus provides a good support againstexcessive rearward tiltina oi the entire pan structure when the occupantleans bacir. against the back-rest. I

Another feature of this invention is the greatly increased area or theflat bottom which rests upon the bedding over the bottom area oi thecontainer portion, whereby a nreatly increased stability of the entirepan when in use is obtained. Another feature is the simple rnechanismoithe folding back-rest and the guides therefor whereby the back-rest maybe released from its haclr supporting position, folded and moved intoits pocket by simple motions with one hand. Also 5 this simple mechanismpermits the baclr-rest to I be easily moved from its pocket to itsunfolded back-supporting position by simple motions with one hand.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the iollowing description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred embodiclearly shown.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the bed pan of tl isinvention with the back-rest in raised position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of thebase portion with the container removed, anddiscloses the backrest in folded position within the shallow pocket itbelow the container.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a detail, as seen in the direction ofarrow 3 of Fig. 2.

l lg. t is a section through the base taken on line M oi Fig. 2, andshows the container in side elevation. The back-rest is shown in fulllines in back-supporting position and the dotted lines illustrate howthe two upper sections of the basin-rest are folded down upon the lowersection.

b is a view similar to Fig. i and shows the leach-rest in foldedcondition in full lines and raised ironr its detaining recess so it maybegin to swing toward a horizontal position. Successive positions oi thefolded back-rest moving into its poclret are shown in dottedlines.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section talren on line @--6 of Fig; 2, but showsthe back-rest entirely removed in order to clearly show the guidestherefor and the spring detent for retaining the 7 lower section of theback-rest raised (as shown W in Fig. 5) while the two upper sections arefolded thereupon.

Fig. 'i is a view looiring in the direction of arrow 7 cl Fig. i).

Fig. s is a perspective view of a detail, showing the lockinghinge-joint between the lower and second sections of the back-rest.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout thevarious views.

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings, 10 designatesthe base, which is here shown as a casting preferably of a lightaluminum alloy, having an upper opening 11 which snugly receives theseparate pan container 12 which is preferably drawn from fiat metal andin fact may be an ordinary metal bed pan. This illi container 12 issupported by the base in so as to provide a shallow pocket 15 betweenthe bottom 13 of the base and the bottom 1 or the con tainer. The flaredsides 16 of the base 10 termi notes at the rear thereof on straightvertical edges 1'! (see Figs. 6 and 7) so as to leave a rear opening 20leading into the shallow poclret 15. Two narrow guide rails 21 arerigidly fixed to base 10 by suitable means, such as by screws 22 whichextend into the abutting edges l? of the base sides 16 and b screws 23whic t merit of one form of the present invention is y H ex end throughthe bottom flanges M of the side rails 21 into the bottom 13 of thebase. These side rails 21 serve to guide and support the folding theyieldable detents 36 cross bars 28 and 29.

back-rest, which is designated as a whole by 25.

The lower, quite rigid section 26 of the backrest 25 comprises two sides27 and two spaced The two sides 27 each have two laterally projectinglugs 30 and 31 which ride in the two slots 32 in the guide rails 21 andthereby guide and support the lower section 26 of the back-rest as itmoves into and out of the pocket 15 through the rear opening 20 thereof.The bottom lugs 30 can conveniently be the projecting ends of thelower'round cross bar 28. The upper edge 33 of the slots 32 is curvedupwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, so that the lugs 31 ridingthereupon as the lower section 26 is withdrawn from the pocket 15 willcause a progressive upward tilting of section 26 from a horizontal to asubstantially vertical position. Such a progressive upward tiltingisillustrated in Fig. 5 by the dotted line positions 26' and 26". Ofcourse when section 26 is moved from its upright position to itsposition within pocket 15, the reverse tilting movement takes place. Thepurpose of such progressive tilting of the back-rest is to providesubstantial clearance between the back-rest and the bedding, whichnormally bulges upwardly around the bed pan to quite a degree when theoccupants weight rests thereupon. A very important feature of thisinvention is the ease with which the back-rest may be moved into or outof its pocket regardless of such upwardly bulging bedding. Hence the bedpan of this invention may be inserted in collapsed condition under apatient while lying down and the backrest easily pulled out to itsback-supporting position after the patient sits up to an uprightposition thereupon.

When the lower section 26 01' the back rest reaches its substantiallyvertical position, the

two lower lugs 30 thereon will lie vertically abovethe two notches 34 atthe rear end of each of the guide slots 15, and at this instant the twoupper lugs 31 will lie in the notches 35 (see Fig. 6) up above thelaterally yieldable detents 36. This position of section 26 is shown infull lines in Fig. 5. A slight down pressure on the, backrest will thenforce the upper lugs 31 just past and the lower lugs 30 into the notches34, thereby firmly fixing the back-rest in back-supporting position asshown in Fig. 4. The laterally yieldable detents 36 may be small roundedplungers suitably mounted within a recess in the sides 16 of the baseand projecting into the grooves 15 and urged toward the grooves by asmall coil spring 37 (see Fig. 7). In the description of the operationso far given it has been assumed that the two upper sections or theback-rest have been collapsed upon and moved with the lower section 26.

These two uppersections 40 and 41 will now be described. Section 40comprises two links, preferably without connecting cross bars, whichhave locking hinge joints 42 with the upper end of the lower section 26,as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The upper ends of section 26 each have afixed transverse pin 43 which passes loosely through the elongated slot44 in link 40. Hence when link 40 is slipped down until pin 43 is at theupper end of slot 44 the hinge joint 42 is locked,- but when link 40 is,pulled up to move pin 43 to the lower end of slot 44, the link 40 willobviously then hinge backwardly upon pin 43 as shown in Fig. 4. Theupper section 41 has a simple one-way hinge 45 to the upper ends oflinks 40. It will be noted that hinge 42 hinges in such direction as tocause section 40 to fold backward after it is unlocked, while hinge 45permits the top section 41 to fold forward only.

Thus all the sections will be properly fixed together to properlysupport the occupants back simply by grasping the top section 41 by thehandhole 46 therein and raising all the sections to a substantiallyvertical position and then forcing the hand downwardly until hinge 42 islocked.

In order to properly retain the back rest 25 in folded condition withinits pocket 15, a small yieldable detent 50 may be provided on the bottom13 of base 10 to catch behind the bar 28 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thisdetent 50 may be a small spring-pressed plunger similar to detent 36 asdescribed above, or it may be of simpler form such as a hump in thebottom 13 over which the slightly flexible bar 28 may snap and so holdthe back rest in place by friction.

In operation, after the occupant has been seated upon the pan while theback-rest is within its pocket 15, the nurse grasps the back-rest 25 bythe handle 46 and pulls it rearwardly past detent 50 and upwardly,causing it to move successively through the positions shown in Fig. 5,and then easily presses down on the back-rest to seat lugs 30 in notches34, as described above.

Without releasing her grip on handhole 46 she then swings the two uppersections 41 and 40 rearwardly and upwardly through the successivepositions shown in Fig. 4 until they reach a substantially verticalposition whereupon the hinge joints 42 will look by gravity. Theoccupant may immediately lean backward upon the backrest.

In order to fold the back-rest and insert it into its pocket 15, thenurse grasps the back-rest by the handhole 46 as before and pullsupwardly. which action not only raises lower section 26 until the lowerlugs 30 are above the notches 34 and the upper lugs 31 are pressedupwardly past the yieldable detents 36, but also the links 40 are raisedrelative to section 26 by pins 43 sliding in the slots 44, thusunlocking the hinge joints 42. The detents 36 support the weight of thelower section 26 and permit it to pivot into proper alignment with theguide slots 15 while the nurse simply folds the upper sections 41 and 40upon the section 26 without releasing her grip on handhole 46. She thenforces the completely folded back-rest 25 into its pocket 15'thro1ighthe same progressively tilted positions through which it passed duringwithdrawal with a flnal slight pressure to snap it past the holdingdetent 50. Thus the back-rest 25 may be moved from its nested positionwithin its pocket 15 to its operative position, or vice versa, in a verysimple manner with one hand and without releasing the hand grip thereon.

The bottom 13 of the b'tse 10 projects rearwardly at 60 beyond thevertical position of the back rest andthus provides a support againsttoo easy backward tilting of the entire bed pan upon the soft beddingwhen the occupant leans ,sheet steel similar to the container 12 insteadof as a casting as shown. In such case the upper edge 11 of the flaredsides 16 of the base of the container 12 to form a smooth, neat jointmay be welded directly to the contacting surface therebetween andprovide an integral structure. The welded'joint may then be covered withchromium plate or porcelain enamel to effectively conceal same.

If desired, the container 12 may have its botbedding. In this form thecapacity of container 12 may be increased by depressing the frontportion of its bottom it so as to lie in substantial contact with thebase bottom 13, thus utilizing this space to advantage. By such aconstruction the combined vertical height of the container 12 and base10 may exceed that ofcontainer 12 alone only by the thickness of bottom13, or approximately a quarter of an inch, and yet .the

capacity of container 12 will be almost as great as an ordinaryflatbottom bed pan.

.While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow. a

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A bed pan comprising: a container, 9. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, and a movable back-rest mounted uponsaid pan and movable from a back-supporting position to a positionwithin said pocket through said opening.

2. A bed pan comprising: a container, 9. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, and a folding back-rest mounted uponsaid pan and movable from a back-supporting position to a foldedposition within said pocket.

3. A bed pan comprising: a container, a. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, and a folding back-rest mounted uponsaid pan and movable from a. back-supporting position to a foldedposition within said pocket, said back-rest being movable in foldedcondition into said pocket through said opening in a curved path,whereby the back-rest substantially clears the bedding which normallybulges upwardly around the pan when in use.

4. A bed pan comprising: a. container, 9. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, and a folding back-rest mounted uponsaid pan and movable from a back-supporting position to a foldedposition within said pocket, and means causing said back-rest to bepartially tilted to enter said opening concurrently 'with the foldingoperation.

5. A bed pan comprising: a container, 9. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, and a movable back-rest mounted uponsaid pan and movable from a. back-supporting position to a positionwithin said pocket through said opening, and means causing saidback-restto be progressively tilted toward a horizontal position as it moves intosaid pocket, whereby it substantially clears the bedding which may bulgeupwardly adjacent said opening.

6. A bed pan comprising: a. container, 19. shallow pocket under'saldcontainer having a rear opening, a folding back-rest having a pluralityof' hinged sections and movable from a back-sup- ,pocket, a guide sloton each side porting position to a folded position in said pocket, thelower hinged section ,being partially tiltable to enter said openingconcurrently with the folding of the remaining sections thereupon.

7. A bed pan comprising: a container, a shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, a folding back-rest having a pluralityof hinged sections and movable from a backsupporting position to afolded position in said pocket, the lower hinged section being partiallyI tiltable to enter said opening concurrently with the folding of theremaining sections thereupon, and a yieldable detent for retaining saidlower section in said partially tilted position until the back-rest issubstantially completely folded.

8. A bed pan comprising: a container, 9. shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, a folding back-rest having a pluralityof hinged sections and movable from a back supporting position to afolded position in said pocket, and guide meansfqr the lower hingedsection permitting the folded back-rest to be progressively tiltedtoward a horizontal position as it moves into said pocket, whereby tofacilitate clearance of the bedding adjacent said opening. I

9. A bed pan comprising: a container, at shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a rear opening, a folding back-rest having a. pluralityof hinged sections and movable from a back-supporting position to afolded position in. said pocket, and guide means for the lower hingedsection permitting the folded back-rest to be progressively tiltedtoward a horizontal position as it moves into said pocket, and ayieldable detent for retaining said lower section in a partially tiltedposition while the back-rest is being folded.

10. A bed pan comprising: a container, a shallow pocket under saidcontainer having a. rear opening, a folding back-resthaving a pluralityof hinged sections and movable from a back-supporting position to a.folded position in said of said pocket, and projections on the lowerhinged section riding in said slots causing the folded back-rest to beprogressively tilted toward a horizontal position as it moves into-saidpocket.

11. A bed pan comprising: a container, a shaltially tilted positionwhile the back-rest is being.

folded.

12. A bed pan comprising: a container, at shah low pocket, under saidcontainer having a rear opening. a. folding back-rest having a pluralityof hinged sections and movable from a. backin said pocket, a curvedguide slot on each side of said pocket, and two supporting positionspaced projections on each side of the lower hinged section ridingineach slot in such manner as to cause the folded back-rest toprogressively-tilt toward a horizontal position as it moves into saidpocket.

13. A bed pan comprising: a container, 0. shallow pocket under said-container having a. rear opening, a folding back-rest having aplurality sively tilt toward a horizontal position as it of hingedsections and movable from a backsupporting position in said pocket, a.curved guide slot on each side of said pocket, and two spacedprojections on each side of the lower hinged section riding in each slotin such manner as to cause the folded back-rest to progresmoves intosaid pocket,'said guide slots having recesses at the rear end thereofinto which said projections are inserted to retain said lower hingedsection in back-supporting position.

FRANKLIN L. SHIVELY.

